1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of establishing a session for a Push-to-Talk (PTT) over Cellular (PoC) call. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for processing a PoC call based on an answer mode of push to talk over cellular system client, that is capable of processing a call in consideration of an answer mode mismatch between a PoC server and a PoC terminal when a receiving PoC user established home PoC server and a pre-established session in the PoC terminal and an AUTO-ANSWER mode in the PoC server.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to significant development of mobile communications technologies and the expansion of mobile communications networks, various services and applications which use cellular phones are being provided. At the same time, demand among cellular phone users for various extra services such as location services, a multimedia services, and a PTT services is increasing. Among these extra services, the PTT service supports various supplementary functions such as an instant messenger function and a status display function, as well as a group call and a voice call which are also provided by an existing radio or a trunked radio system (TRS).
Standardization of PoC services which employ the PTT function in a mobile communication network is actively proceeding. One unique feature of the PoC service is that a user can participate in a plurality of PoC sessions and so can move among the PoC sessions to use a call service. A requirement that a user can move among a plurality of PoC sessions to use a call service is specified in the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) which is a forum for specifying mobile communications services.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional PoC service system. Referring to FIG. 1, a PoC client 10, which is a service requester installed in a mobile station, (not shown) (i.e., a PoC terminal), is connected to a SIP/IP core network 30 which supports Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia functions via an access network 20.
The PoC client 10 resides in the PoC terminal and provides access to the PoC service. The PoC client 10 initiates a PoC session, participates in a PoC session that is currently proceeding, and terminates a PoC session as its main function. The PoC client 10 creates and transfers a talk burst, supports an instant personal alert, and performs authentication when accessing the PoC service. Hereinafter, unless otherwise stated, the PoC client 10 is assumed to be the same as a PTT service subscriber.
The SIP/IP core network 30 is connected to a PoC server 60, a group list management system (GLMS) 50, and a presence server 70 in order to support the PoC service.
The PoC server 60 has a controlling PoC function for maintaining a PoC session, or a participating PoC function for participating in a PoC session for a one-to-one PoC call or a one-to-many PoC call (or group PoC call). The remote PoC network 80 includes the PoC client 10, access network 20, SIP/IP core 30, GLMS manager 40, GLMS 50, PoC server 60, presence server 70 from the PoC client 10 to the presence server 70 as described above.
A function of the PoC server is classified into a controlling PoC function (CF) for maintaining a PoC session in general and a participating PoC function (PF) for maintaining each PoC session. The functions of the CF and the PF will be explained below with reference to Tables 1 and 2, respectively.
TABLE 1Controlling PoC Function (CF)Provides centralized PoC session handlingProvides the centralized Media distributionProvides the centralized Talk Burst Arbitration functionalityincluding talker identificationProvides SIP session handling, such as SIP session origination,termination, etc.Provides policy enforcement for participation in group sessionsProvides participant informationCollects and provides centralized media quality informationProvides centralized charging reportsMay provide transcoding between different codecsSupports Talk Burst Control Protocol Negotiation
As shown in Table 1, the CF maintains a PoC session in general. The PoC server receives requests for the floor from PoC clients, arranges an order in which to give the clients the floor, and gives the clients the floor in that order. The PoC server also distributes a talk burst from a specific PoC client to all PoC clients participating in a group PoC call, and provides information of the PoC clients participating in the group PoC call.
As shown in Table 2, the PF manages a PoC session between the CF and each PoC client. The PF relays the floor to the PoC client from the CF. The PF relays media between the CF and the PoC client, provides transcoding between different codecs, and provides a filtering function for filtering one of two PoC sessions chosen by a user when there is simultaneous voice communication in two simultaneous PoC sessions.
TABLE 2Participating PoC Function (PF)Provides PoC session handlingMay provide the Media relay function between PoC Client andControlling PoC serverMay provide user media adaptation proceduresMay provide the Talk Burst control message relay function betweenPoC Client and Controlling PoC serverProvides SIP session handling, such as SIP session origination,termination, etc, on behalf of the represented PoC Client.Provides policy enforcement for incoming PoC session (e.g.,access control, incoming PoC session barring, availabilitystatus, etc.)May collect and provide media quality informationProvides the participant charging reportsMay provide filtering of the media streams in the case ofsimultaneous sessionsMay provide transcoding between different codecsMay support Talk Burst Control Protocol NegotiationStores the current Answer Mode and Incoming PoC Session Barringpreferences of the PoC Client
In the PoC system configured as described above, a PoC user can input information on a group and information on a group member in a GLMS manager 40 through the user's terminal, or identify information on the PoC users whom the user can call through an individual or a group list transmitted from the GLMS manager 40. Another method where the group and group member can be generated, corrected, and managed in the GLMS manager 40 is to input them through a communication network considered to be reliable by the PoC service provider, such as Internet or an Intranet.
In order to use a PoC call service, the PoC user registers the user's PoC address in the SIP/IP core 30. At this time, the SIP/IP core 30 stores information on the PoC user based on the PoC user's request. Accordingly, when other PoC users wish to make a PoC group call, the user registers the user's information in the SIP/IP core 30 network first, and makes a call request to the user's SIP/IP core network using group identification information transmitted from the GLMS 50. At this time, the SIP/IP core 30 determines an address and a domain location using information on requesting PoC user information, and then transmits a PoC call request to a home PoC server 60 in which the requesting PoC user is registered. The PoC server 60 prepares PoC session establishment for such a PoC call request, obtains each user's information from the GLMS 50, and transfers a call request signal to the corresponding SIP/IP core network. At this time, in the case of a call request for users in an intradomain, the PoC server 60 performs both of PF and CF functions. The PoC server 60 managing a PoC user to whom a call request is made uses PoC user information transferred thereto, determines the location of the SIP/IP core network, and then makes a call request to the PoC user.
The present invention relates to call processing technology for setting up a call of a PoC system which enables an immediate call according to the call request using an IP Multimedia CN Subsystem (IMS) network which is currently being standardized, using a call in the form of a half duplex communication, and using group and presence information of the user. Specially, in the call processing to set up such a PoC call, various procedures can be performed according to request and situation of sender and receiver. Features of the PoC system requested in the OMA according to the setup of the sender and receiver are as follows.
First, the receiver can set up its own response mode according to the request of the PoC user and generally divide the response mode into an automatic response mode and a manual mode.
The automatic response mode means that when included in the PoC user list assigned in the receiver, a corresponding network immediately sends the response to the sender, instead of a manual response of the receiver. Because the PoC server has a function to store the response mode and the corresponding user list according to the response mode setup request of the terminal, the network automatically sends the response instead of operation of the terminal. Meanwhile, the manual response mode that corresponds to a case that the receiver is not included in the automatic response user list, a case that it is not clear that the receiver is included in the automatic response user list, or a case that the receiver is set up to manually respond to all users, means that the PoC call request is transmitted to the user's terminal through the receiving network and the call is connected under permission of the PoC user.
Second, the PoC system is divided into an on-demand session mode and a pre-established session mode according to whether the system is connected and set up to the PoC server in the user home network.
The pre-established session mode means that the PoC user sets up a specific session in advance between the PoC client and the PoC server belonging to the user's home network according to the user's request. Such a pre-established session is a function that the PoC user negotiates media parameters with the PoC server in advance so that a rapid call setup is embodied without renegotiation of the media parameter between the server and the client to be used in the future. The pre-established session is embodied when the PoC client provides the media parameters that are supported to a Session Description Protocol (SDP) body through an SIP INVITE method and responds to the media parameters provided by the server. In order to make the pre-established session, the PoC client sends identification information of the pre-established session newly set up in the response message from the server including a conference Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) to the PoC user. In the case of using such a pre-established session, it is possible to pre-establish an IP address, a port number, a codec to be used, and a talk burst control protocol.
The on-demand session mode means the state that the PoC user did not make the pre-established session and performs a PoC call connection procedure after receiving an invitation message of another PoC user.
Meanwhile, the PoC specification that is under the standardization in the OMA has following features rather than the basic functions of the communication system described above.
First, the PoC system supports a manual answer override (MAO) mode in which the receiver automatically sends a response to the PoC user who is pre-established and granted regardless of the response mode of the PoC receiver and connects a call in the receiving terminal. A request of the MAO is supported only to granted call requesters and a PoC call request message (INVITE) including the MAO indicator is transferred. Such an MAO request is a PoC function suitable for responding to emergencies and public services such as, emergency response communications, disaster relief communications, rescue and response communications, etc. However, such an MAO is a function that can be optionally embodied in a standard document (e.g., an Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) standard document) depending on an operator. Moreover, the MAO function cannot operate unless the opposite network supports this function even though the PoC client supports the MAO in its own home network.
Next, a setup of the response mode for the call request in the PoC system can be stored in both the PoC server which is an element on the network and the PoC client which is a terminal of the user side. Specially, when establishing a response mode in the home network managing the PoC client, the response mode is embodied in the PoC server which performs a session participating PoC function (PF) in the home network including the PoC client. As such, in the case of establishing the response mode of the network side, when the PoC call is requested from another PoC server, the PF automatically transfers a session progress message to the call request network in response to the request, so that the call request procedure is simplified when compared to the procedure wherein the session setup message is transferred to the PoC client and thereafter responded to.
However, in the case that the response is automatically performed in the network, since a result other than a user's response will can occur, the PoC user can set up the response mode even in the user's client, and at this time, it is characterized in that the response mode of the user's client is established to the response mode setup on the network. It is for solving a privacy problem occurring when a response mode is not reflected in real time due to a signal delay or an error in a radio access network or EP core network, when the PoC user changes the user's response mode through the terminal and requires the PoC server to update the response mode. To sum up, while the PoC service can set up the user's response mode in both the PoC server and PoC client, the media (actual user's voice) stream is transferred on the basis of the PoC session connection through behavior determined by a user's will.
Considering various functions and characteristics of the PoC system, various PoC call processing procedures can be generated. The present invention relates to a method for providing message information to display an automatic response for a general PoC call request of the sender (in the case that an optional MAO is not requested) and performing call processing for the PoC call request in interworking with the respond mode setup of an end PoC terminal, when a session is pre-established between the PoC server of the PoC call receiver and the client and an automatic response mode is set up in the PoC server.
Hereinafter, a conventional PoC session connection procedure in a PoC system having characteristics described above will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIGS. 2 and 3 are flow diagrams illustrating respective call processing procedures of a call sender and a call receiver, when a general PoC call requester requests the call processing by sending the request message using the SIP protocol, and the automatic response mode is set up and a pre-established session exists in the receiver.
First, referring to FIG. 2, in Step 1 a PoC Client A sends an INVITE request including SIP address information of a receiver whom the Client A wishes to talk to an SIP/IP Core A. At this time, the INVITE request includes elements such as PoC address information of a call request client, a required media parameter, and characteristic information indicating the PoC service, and is transferred (in step 2) to a participating PoC server by way of corresponding servers (e.g., proxy-call server control function (P-CSCF)) and a serving-call server control function (S-CSCF, not shown)) in the IMS network through a path query in a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server or a domain name server (DNS) server (not shown). Since the participating PoC server connected to the PoC user when requesting a general call can be embodied in separation with the controlling PoC server managing a talk burst of the opened session, the INVITE request sent at steps 1 and 2 is transferred to the controlling PoC server X by way of an SIP/IP Core network of each network (in steps 3-5).
A controlling network including a CF transfers the call request message transferred in 5 to the corresponding SIP/IP Core network and then receives a response message. While the SIP message responding in the receiving network may be a provisional response message (i.e., a 1XX-type message), a successful response message (i.e., a 2XX-type message), or error response messages (i.e., a 4XX-6XX-type message), the present invention primarily describes a normal call processing procedure. The 1XX-6XX-type messages are known in the art and are not described further herein for the sake of clarity. After step 5 is performed, the CF can receive an AUTO-ANSWER response or an OK response. In the case of the AUTO-ANSWER response in FIG. 2, the CF can receive an SIP 183 “Session Progress” signal, and progress connection between the PoC server and the client in an IMS network of the requester. A call permission signal of the receiver is sent as an SIP 183 Session Progress or an SIP 200 “OK” response, and transferred to the PoC client A by way of the PoC servers of the CF and PF (steps 6-10). Meanwhile, after the CF receives the 200 OK response or the 183 Session Progress signal from the receiving PoC server, it determines that the PoC call is connected and sends a floor granted signal with which a talk burst floor is granted for the client A (steps 11-12). After the PoC client A receives confirmation response signals in steps 6-10 corresponding to the INVITE request, it receives the floor granted signal using a real time control protocol (RTCP) message to transfer a talk burst transmission permission signal (call connection sound) (in steps 11-12). At this time, the floor granted signal is generated in the CF having a talk burst negotiation right and transferred to the PoC client through the PF managing the corresponding PoC client, and may be transferred without passing through the SIP/EP Core network by using a path of a bearer rather than the SIP protocol. Finally, the PoC user who confirmed such a call connection sound transfers the media (voice, representatively) stream using a real time protocol (RTP).
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a conventional procedure in the receiver when a session between the server and the client in the receiver was pre-established corresponding to call procedures in the sender. (At this time, it is assumed that media feature values between the PoC server establishing a pre-established session and the PoC client are used as they are without changing when a new session is requested).
An INVITE request call request message received from the sending network is transferred to the PoC server included in the home network of the receiving PoC client according to a call processing procedure of the IMS network (in steps 1-3). At this time, since the PF B (PoC server B)set up its response mode setup value as an automatic response mode, the PF B sends the SIP 200 “OK” message to the sending network corresponding to the call request message (in steps 4-6). Further, since the pre-established session need not be changed, the PF B does not send the call request message to the PoC client connected to the PF B.
Meanwhile, the PoC server of the controlling network that has received an OK response acknowledged through an IMS path completes the PoC call processing procedure by sending an OK response to the sending PoC client (step 7), and sends the floor granted signal with which a talk burst floor is granted to the sending PoC client (step 8). Meanwhile, the CF sends the PoC address of the PoC user having the floor or a sending Talk Burst signal including a display name to the receiving PoC user while sending the RTCP message which grants the floor (steps 9-10), so that the receiving PoC client can receive sender information of a media stream to be transferred in advance. Talk Burst signal uses the bearer path (as in FIG. 2) as opposed to the SLP protocol, and therefore can be transferred without passing through the SIP/IP Core network. Meanwhile, the media (voice) stream sent from the sender is transferred to the client B using the RTP protocol through the path of the media bearer, thereby starting a call.
FIG. 4 is a table illustrating information elements included in the INVITE request requested by the sender corresponding to step 1 of FIG. 3. The call request message includes PoC addresses of the PoC call requester and receiver, media parameter information given by in the client or server, an indicator indicating a PoC call, an indicator set up in the PoC server, a talk burst control protocol to negotiate between sending and receiving networks, etc.
When the PoC server managing the pre-established session set ups an automatic response mode for the PoC client in which the pre-established session exists, the PF directly acknowledges the OK response without sending the AUTO-ANSWER in the call request processing procedure of the conventional art.
The OK response in the receiving PoC server is sent to the sending network so that the sending PoC client receives the talk burst permission signal together with the OK response signal and transfers an actual media stream. Further, since the CF which is a PoC server has received the 200 OK signal, it directly transfers the transferred media stream to the receiving network without buffering it. Further, since the PoC server of the receiving network does not accompany a separate SIP signal for the transferred media stream, it directly transfers the media stream to the receiving PoC client using the RTP.
As such, when following the session procedure and media transfer procedure in which the pre-established session and automatic response mode are set up, if a response mode of the receiving PoC client is not automatically set up (that is, when other race conditions occur in the response mode set up between the server and the terminal due to a temporary response mode change), the receiving PoC client cannot obtain information to process a transferred media stream, which is an undesirable consequence. In the above example, the “race condition” indicates that the state the mode of the PoC server is different from that of the PoC client by time delay, etc. For example, a PoC client request to change the PoC server's mode from an “Auto-answer mode” to a “Manual-answer mode”. In this case, the time delay (e.g., from the time the PoC client requests to the time the PoC server changes its mode reflecting the PoC client's request) can be called a “race condition”.